What actually happens when CX doesn't have a seat at the table? Cate Marques, CXO at @terrakaffe has a clear answer: you might sell a product, but you'll never become a brand.
Cate breaks down the real risks businesses face when they sideline their CX leaders — and it goes way beyond customer satisfaction scores.
Risk #1: You build for the customer you want, not the customer you have. Founders and marketing teams often launch campaigns based on who they think their customer is. But that almost never matches reality. Terra Kaffe learned this firsthand — a beautiful photo of the Berlin Museum of Art, zero engagement. Too aspirational, not accessible enough. When you're not listening to your CX team, you're turning out creative that just doesn't land.
Risk #2: Your revenue takes a hit. If you don't know who your customer actually is, your customer acquisition costs will skyrocket. You're doing more and more work to get people to understand your brand — and people vote with their dollars. Every dollar you spend acquiring a customer you don't understand is a dollar you could have spent retaining one you do.
But the biggest risk of all? You never build the emotional connection that turns customers into a community. People aren't going to tell their friends about you, they're not going to become flywheels for your brand, if they don't feel seen and understood. And that feeling lives and dies within your CX org.
CX isn't a cost center. It's the part of your business that knows who your customer actually is. Give them a seat at the table — or you're shortchanging yourself.
CX leaders wear two masks.
To your customers, you're the face of the business. To the business, you're the face of the customer.
Merging those two worlds — without positioning the company against the customer — is one of the hardest parts of the job. Sometimes, what the customer wants involves expending business resources that cut into profitability.
Cate Marques, Chief Experience Officer at @terrakaffe , knows this better than most. She built the CX function from the ground up at a brand taking on 100-year-old incumbents in the home espresso space.
Check out this clip from the third episode of the CX Now podcast:
CX Leaders night out! Our team had an awesome time at the @redsox game on Wednesday, connecting with some of our valued clients and new faces in the industry in the Boston area. Thanks to those who cheered on with us in the suite.
Plus, the Sox brought home the W to top it all off! ⚾
We're having a great time at @sub_summit in Kansas City - how many events have dogs that you can hang out with? 🐶
The fun continues! Swing by booth 700 for a morning mimosa, afternoon Aperol Spritz, or a mocktail and meet our friendly team. You can't miss us with our cheerful yellow jackets 💛
Our team had a great time at CCW UK Summit in London yesterday, including getting a chance to meet Star Speaker Rory Sutherland.
We're back today! Stop by booth 11 to meet the team and learn how Kustomer's AI-native customer experience platform can help you delight and retain customers.
🤠 We had a great time last week with our friends at @aftership making authentic Texan hats at @fmwesternstore in Austin!
We loved learning about how to customize hats while connecting with CX leaders in such a neat environment. Thank you to all who joined!
We had a great time in Nashville with our Thought Leaders Community! Thank you to those who joined our team to share what's really on the minds of CX leaders today and the methods you're using to overcome current challenges. We so enjoyed collaborating at @themalin .
Of course, a whole day of collaboration needs a delicious meal at @abarestaurant and a night on the town to wrap up our time in Music City 🎸🎶
Subscription brands, we'll see you at @Sub_Summit 2026.
We'll be at Booth 700 with mimosas in the morning and Aperol Spritzes (or a mocktail!) in the afternoon, so come find us and say hi.
And if you're scaling a subscription business and CX is keeping you up at night, we'd love to connect. One of our subscription customers found that once their agents could see the full subscriber picture in real time, they stopped being reactive and started using those conversations to save renewals and upsell. They tracked a 10% increase in weekly revenue from that shift alone.
That's exactly the kind of thing we're there to dig into.
Last week, we co-hosted a dinner with @customerfirstdigital at Chelsea Living Room in NYC. Such a fun, intimate vibe leads to the best conversations! Thank you to those who joined us.
The first hire Terra Kaffe's founder made was CX.
Not sales. Not marketing. CX.
When you're selling a $1,000–$2,000 espresso machine against brands that are over 100 years old, you don't have a choice but to listen to your customers.
Their founder knew that from day one — and it changed everything for Cate Marques's trajectory.
Cate, the Chief Experience Officer, earned her seat at the executive table the same way she earned everything else: by proving, over and over, that listening to the customer benefits the business.
Calling CX operators: we're hosting an intentional group at 54thirty in Denver on Tuesday, May 19th.
The conversation is going to center on where CX transformation is actually heading, what AI is changing on the ground, and what's genuinely challenging right now.
Drinks, light bites, and one of the best views in the city.
DM us to get on the list.
Yesterday, our CEO Brad Birnbaum spoke at the AI Agent Conference in NYC with Clint Smith of @Discord , Andrew Rabinovich from @Upwork and Ping Wu from Cresta.
In an efficient yet insightful session, they each shared about their organizations, an unpopular belief they hold around AI, and what they hope to learn more about to deepen their understanding.
Coming together with other thought leaders to see where we align and differ is a unique opportunity as we all go forward into uncharted territory with this technology.
We’re all forging the future, and taking time to learn from peers is helpful as we incorporate AI into our product and how we work at Kustomer.
